1990 German Grand Prix
29 July |officialname = LII Großer Preis von Deutschland |circuit = Hockenheimring |location = Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |circuittype = Permanent racing facilty |lapdistance = 6.802 |laps = 45 |distance = 306.090 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:40.198 |fastestlap = 1:45.602 |fastestlapdriver = Thierry Boutsen |fastestlapnation = BEL |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 31 |winner = Ayrton Senna |winnernation = BRA-1968 |winnerteam = |second = Alessandro Nannini |secondnation = ITA |secondteam = |third = Gerhard Berger |thirdnation = AUT |thirdteam = }} The 1990 German Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LII Großer Preis von Deutschland, was the ninth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, on the 29 July 1990.'German GP, 1990', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr493.html, (Accessed 29/06/2019) The race, which was the last German Grand Prix to be held before the re-unification of Germany on 3 October 1990, would see Ayrton Senna claim victory to restore his lead in the Championship. The race was heralded by news that 1990's best rookie, Jean Alesi, had signed contracts with both and for , while still holding a multi-year deal with . Elsewhere, there was also a reshuffling of those who were required to pre-qualify for the race, with promoted to the full field at the expense of former race winners . Ultimately both Ligiers would safely make it into the full qualifying show, and would hence witness Senna and Gerhard Berger secure a front row lockout for . The two Ferraris of Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell shared the second row, while the Williams-Renaults completed the third. Berger would seriously challenge Senna off the line at the start of the race, with the Brazilian only just managing to keep ahead as they swept into the Nordkurve. Prost was left to lead the anti-McLaren charge ahead of teammate Mansell while, at the back of the field there would be a nasty accident after Stefano Modena suffered a clutch failure. Michele Alboreto was fortunate to miss the Italian's , starting right behind, and hence jinked around it, as did David Brabham in the sister car. Unfortunately for Brabham his manoeuvre carried him right into the side of Emanuele Pirro, while shot straight into the pitwall, while one of the Italian's wheels flew into the path of Philippe Alliot. The race was hence neutralised under yellow flags, preventing the order from drastically changing until the carnage was cleared from the start/finish straight. As such, there was no real change to the order until the eleventh lap, when Nelson Piquet tried a lunge at Riccardo Patrese, only to misjudge his braking point and slide down an escape road. Out front, meanwhile, Mansell would drop out of the McLaren/Ferrari battle for the lead, sliding wide at Ostkurve and smashing his suspension. He duly limped back to the pits to retire, just as Senna, Berger and Prost swept into the pits for fresh tyres. Alessandro Nannini would inherit the lead during the stops, and would continue to do so as Benetton had opted for a non-stop strategy. The Italian's pace therefore began to decline in the closing stages, allowing Senna to catch and pass the Benetton with twelve laps to go. With that the race was over, with Senna cruising home a few seconds clear of Nannini's Benetton. Berger, meanwhile, would run out of time to catch the Italian, having spent a large part of the race stuck behind Piquet until the Brazilian suffered an engine failure, with Prost, Patrese and Thierry Boutsen claiming the remaining points. Background It had taken until the halfway point of the season but there was finally a new name atop the Championship table, with Alain Prost moving to the top of the Championship. Ayrton Senna, former leader, slipped to second and two points behind his arch-rival, with those two set to duel for the title over the rest of the season. Gerhard Berger was next, sixteen off the lead, while Nelson Piquet and Thierry Boutsen completed the mid-season top five. would head into the second half of the season still in command of the Constructors Championship, although their advantage had been chipped away again on home soil. Indeed, would enter the second half of the season just ten off the leaders, while also holding double the number of points of third placed . were next ahead of , with ten constructors on the board with half the season gone. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full pre-qualifying results for the are outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Alesi was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Lehto was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance. *‡ Alliot was disqualified from the results of the race after receiving outside assistance. Milestones * 39th and final Grand Prix to be staged in West Germany. * First and only entry for as a constructor.'1990 German GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1990&gp=German%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 29/06/2019) * 200th entry for a car using #29 as its race number. * 25th entry for Olivier Grouillard. * Paolo Barilla and Martin Donnelly entered their tenth race. * 24th victory for Ayrton Senna.'9. Germany 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/allemagne.aspx, (Accessed 29/06/2019) ** This was also Senna's 50th podium finish. * scored their 84th victory as a constructor. ** powered a car to a 56th triumph. * Maiden fastest lap recorded by Thierry Boutsen. ** This was also the 25th fastest lap set using a engine. Standings Ayrton Senna moved back ahead of Alain Prost after securing his fourth victory of the campaign, establishing a narrow four point lead over his arch-rival. The Frenchman himself had, however, maintained his position as the Brazilian's biggest threat, with Gerhard Berger losing more ground in third. Behind him sat Thierry Boutsen and Nelson Piquet, with sixteen drivers on the scoreboard. In the Constructors Championship it had been a strong afternoon for , the Anglo-Japanese squad having re-established a healthy twenty point lead. were still their most likely challengers, but were a whole round behind in terms of points. Behind, swapped places with , claiming third in their latest round of leap-frog, while remained at the foot of the table. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1990 Grands Prix Category:German Grand Prix